Aged or stained Douglas Fir on window frame?
Does anyone have any idea if this douglas fir window frame (original from 1923 construction) for my casement windows is stained underneath the paint or is it just darker because of aging or maybe chemical reaction from paint?
Thanks for any help!
John
Replies
All of the above. If you want it lighter you can use a "wood brightener" on it. There are several different types to choose from.
Ok thanks. I actually like the darker look. I am mainly curious about what the original look of the home was (painted trim vs non). It's in Pasadena and the exterior is spanish colonial revival, but the interior has many Arts and Crafts detaiils (Batchelder fireplace, etc). Given your thoughts, and the prevailing styles of the time for arts and crafts homes I can probably make the assumption that all the trim, mouldings, built-ins, etc were originally just stained. Now to come up with a plan for removing all this white-ish paint...
When, about 50 years ago, my parents moved into an old farmhouse built about 1900, the handrail in the stairway was painted with about 10 coats of paint, of several different hues. Dad scraped it down to bare wood (with the help of some paint stripper) and then decided to wait to see what color to repaint. He never repainted it. When people visited they would rave about the beautiful wood -- was it cherry? was it walnut?
We never did figure out what sort of wood it was.
1923 -- white paint - removing
Got kids?
Remove ONLY with heat gun (NO sanding) and move the kids out of the house while you do it. Or pay many thousands of $$ fro lead pro removal.
Keep your mouth shut about it or you will have the California lead paint gestapo on you.
See if you can gety this thread deleted also.
Unless of course you test it and is latex paint from late 70s or some such.
If you use a good paint remover, scrape, and carefully collect and properly dispose of all the material you scrape off there should be no lead hazard. Do keep kids and pets away while you're doing the work, though, if not for the lead then for the nasty stuff in the paint remover.
A heat gun is a really bad idea for removing lead paint, unless you use a really good respirator.
Paint stripper is a better solution for removing old lead paint. Its messier, but at least the person working won't be breathing in lead fumes.